NY Fashion Week Fall 2012: J Mendel

J Mendel cited two seemingly disparate inspirations for his luxe fall collection: a Helmut Newton editorial shot at a Gaudi building for Diana Vreeland at Vogue and one of his mother’s bouclé Courrèges suit he remembers from childhood.

Clearly the opening white story relates to the feminine, anthropomorphic shapes as seen in Gaudi’s La Pedrera above. The lightness and combination of textures can be seen as art is translated to fashion.

The crescent cutouts of this jersey top directly echo the architectural elements of Gaudi’s masterpiece. Note how Mendel interprets the glove trend.

The plunging V’s are softened by the gentle pleating of the black silk chiffon and elegant drape of the plum textured silk cloque gowns.

Sinuous lines and cutouts continue with the addition of luxe gold elements, one of the season’s strongest trends and reminiscent of the metallic lining of Mendel’s mother’s Courrèges suit.

The mosaic quality of Gaudi’s work is expressed in the tiling of the alligator below. I’m not sure you can see the organza binding detail that provides an elegant contrast to the severity of the black as does the combination of textures in the amazing multi-fur intarsia degradé coat with alligator sleeves. These creative fur techniques are the specialty of the house.

Mounted on tulle, the furs this season are a result of the combining of layers and textures into a unified whole with a light flowing quality. I loved the impressive melding of tonalities and materials below, including the incredible gloves! The warm neutral degradé of the fur with the taupe alligator dress is the ultimate in elegant modern luxury.

The mosaics of Gaudi’s masterpiece are seen again in the gowns with intricate paneling, beading and combination of geometric shapes tempered by the flow of chiffon.

As the final outfit made its way down the runway, to one of the best music mixes of fashion week, we came full circle, back to wondrous white and metallics of Gaudi and Courrèges.

I was just standing on that roof-top spot of La Pedrera a few months ago and can see the influence of Guadi’s magic in this collection. J. Mendel is always a favorite. So elegant but never boring. Lovely!

I love these posts. I don’t dip into the fashion world much, I’m so heavily into interiors and can get rather single minded sometimes. This is fun and so interesting to see the architectural influences. Design is design is design no matter what the medium.

I definitely see the Gaudi parallel. Love Gaudi. I have a colourful Gaudi lizard (that i am smitten with) that I purchased from Barcelona. Mendel’s collection is striking and flatters the female form beautifully:-)

Hi Stacey, I just returned from Barcelona earlier this week! While there I immersed myself in everything Gaudi so of course I was thrilled to arrive home to your post and witness yet another way that Gaudi continues to inspire us all. THANKS!

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